Last week, the Last Prisoner Project (LPP) team and a number of our constituents were able to to come together at MJ Unpacked, a cannabis business-to-business event that brings together passionate cannabis retailers, THC CPG brands, and accredited investors to connect, collaborate, and access industry knowledge. LPP team members were in attendance sharing information on our advocacy work, reentry resources, and partnership opportunities. 

To start the week off, we stopped by the launch of the Jason Jaques Gallery x LPP collaborative exhibition “Smoke” which is an exploration of past vs. present attitudes towards cannabis and 'substance use,' broadly termed, as leisure, as luxury, as medicine, and as criminalized behavior through the lens of class and race.

Thursday night, MJ Unpacked, with the help of Jage Media and countless others, hosted a benefit concert with DJ Large Child, Roy Rogers, Hempress Sativa, and Ghostface Killah of which the proceeds were donated to LPP to help further our mission of supporting those directly impacted by cannabis criminalization. Some of our constituents also spoke at the concert sharing their stories and calling attention to the need to take action. 

Donte West, a former constituent now staff member, shared his story and introduced Brookeanne Popplewell, the wife of LPP constituent Humberto Ramirez, who talked about the devastating impact his unjust incarceration has had on their daughter and family. Stephanie Shepard, an LPP Development Associate that previously served 10 years for cannabis, introduced spoken-word artist, Richeda Ashmeade, who is heading into her second year at law school in Atlanta, GA while her father Ricardo Ashmeade serves a 22-year sentence for cannabis. You can listen to their full speeches in this Youtube video.

LPP Co-founder, Steve DeAngelo, opened the event highlighting our important work and shared his thoughts the next day at the “Legacy Storytelling: Creating an Authentic Brand from the Unregulated Market” panel. You can read more about the panel and the conference in this MJ Brand Insights article. It was so great to connect with so many new and existing partners and we look forward to continuing in this fight together until all those still incarcerated for cannabis are fully free.